Week 1

Well we have completed our first week of classes at the New Hope Institute of Childcare and Family. What an interesting week!

I (Rachel) have really struggled this week with homesickness, to the point where I was begging Michael to take me home. I knew that being away from my family and home for 20 weeks would be a difficult thing for me, because I like being at home! When I was in high school I would cry when I went away for 1 week to church camp! :o) While the first few days of this week, and even now, have been tough for me, God has used this time of stretching to teach me just how much I need HIM. I am finding out just how much I MUST have Him and His Word just to live each day! I know that being at home in America I would not have learned this lesson the way I am learning it here. We have had several times of discussion and prayer with Keith and LauraBeth. Those times have been encouraging! Mike and I have been praying each morning before getting out of bed and meditating daily on Psalm 63.

I have never been the most open person, but this week God has made me realize that I NEED to be open and real with my thoughts and feelings. I was able to sit down with Mike and let him in on a portion of my life that I had never discussed with him before. While it was difficult (because I like to keep things to myself) it has deepened our relationship in a way we never imagined! These things all happened before class even began!!

The first 2 days of class (Tuesday and Wednesday) consisted of each person telling his/her "life story". Talk about amazing! It is easy as individuals to think that we are the only ones who are struggling or have crazy things happening in our families, but when you sit in a room of over 20 people and hear the things that other people have been through or are going through you recognize that everyone is human and we ALL have problems and issues to work through. Michael and I have not had the opportunity to tell our stories yet, but we will probably have that chance on Tuesday or Wednesday! Please pray that God would give us just the words to say that would clearly convey our stories to our classmates.

On Thursday the "family parents" came in to talk with the class. You see, there are several family groups here at New Hope. The orphans here are all living within a family setting rather than a typical orphanage. This way they are able to get a glimpse of what a typical family is supposed to look like. Each student in the class is assigned to work with a particular family group. We will be involved with Ebeneezer family. There are many ways to get involved, but probably the most common thing for us will be having a meal or two with them throughout the week, working in the garden with them, and participating in family devotion times. We are very excited about this opportunity, but again God is using it to stretch us! I (Rachel again!) am a little bit nervous about having to be the persuer of relationships. I have never been very good at being the persuer, and that has probably resulted in many "could have been" friendships. I know that God is going to use this to teach me valuable lessons that I must learn! I reall appreciate your prayers in this area!! :o)

Friday, our last day before the weekend!! We really got into the class material on Worldview. Keith talked about the lens through which we see everything and everyone, how that lens is built (by our culture, past experiences, etc), and how it affects us! We then watched a bit of The Truth Project. We both had viewed The Truth Project before, but after hearing what Keith had to say it seemed to mean so much more! I am sure we will be discussing more about worldview over the next 19 weeks!

Saturday (today!) was also a day of learning! We learned how to do our laundry...by hand! What an experience! As Keith said, it really makes you appreciate having a washing MACHINE!! :o) We actually had an enjoyable time learning together. It was definitely a team effort. As for the rest of our day, I think Mike is planning to play some basketball with some other guys. I will probably go with him and may play as well. Other than that we are kind of just taking it easy!

Have a great weekend and keep an eye out for more posts this week! Now that we have a little bit of a routine established we might be able to post more!!